It is the current practice to support mine roofs by overhead bolts instead of props extending from the floor to the roof of the mine. The bolts are inserted into holes that have been drilled through the roofs. During the drilling of these holes and during each other such drilling operations, a great deal of particulate matter is formed resulting in heavy clouds of dust with all the well-known disadvantages.
Previous methods or systems employed for collecting this dust include separate dust bowls that work separately from the drilling mechanism and are placed adjacent the drilling site. Another such mechanism includes dust-collecting bowls with suctions on the bottoms thereof that catch the dust particles as they fall from the drilling site and are conveyed away. These methods, however, are very inefficient and require careful handling. However, these types of dust-collecting mechanisms have resulted in the operator being required to wear a safety mask because the dust cloud is so heavy. Illustrative of these types of dust-collecting mechanisms are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,057,568, 1,972,846, 2,590,958, 2,829,867, 2,832,567 and 3,924,696.